Assisted un/loading service

Seven Seas Worldwide usually operates with one driver per vehicle. However, in a small number of countries, our driver is accompanied by a helper for their safety.

The driver can provide an extra pair of hands and offer guidance while you're loading the MoveCube®. For example, to ensure its weight is stacked evenly or guide heavy goods towards the centre to prevent the MoveCube® from tilting during transit.

Our driver may also help you move items from the street-level entrance of your address to or from your MoveCube®, provided the distance is within 20 metres (66 feet). However, they must keep our vehicle within eyesight at all times for the security of your contents.

Our drivers are not present to:

• load or unload the MoveCube® for you;
• pack up boxes with loose items;
• help you complete your shipping documentation;
• assist with the loading or unloading of pianos.

Baggage worldwide

A general term for all personal possessions that you wish to 'send' or 'ship' in a cardboard box.

BIFA

British International Freight Association, Seven Seas Worldwide is a member of this association and the Terms and Conditions BIFA issues - an industry standard - forms the basis of our General Terms and Conditions.

By Air

Air shipments are by far the fastest way to move something around the world but it has a high environmental cost and can be quite expensive depending on how much you want to send. Seven Seas Worldwide use air consols to move shipments around the world. We bulk buy space on an aircraft and then deliver a group or consol of shipments, including yours, to the cargo section of the airport where it is loaded on a flight. Seven Seas Worldwide are notified by the airlines when the shipment has arrived and we then present the necessary documentation for Customs and, if required, the environmental agency in the destination country to have the shipment cleared. Then we can collect the shipment and deliver your shipment back to you.

By Sea

Shipping by sea is both environmentally sensitive and cheaper than by air but it also takes longer. Seven Seas Worldwide uses large maritime containers, for example 40-foot or 45-foot containers, to move your shipment around the world. These are stacked on container ships which are continuously travelling on specific routes around the world. We do not "consolidate" i.e. share the space in the container with other companies, the contents of our containers are only filled with our customers' shipments of personal effects and household items. Seven Seas Worldwide books containers, loads them at our Hub in the origin country, with your shipment and many others, delivers the container to the port where it is loaded on the ship and starts it journey. The ship may not travel directly to the destination country but stop at other ports long the way. The container with your shipment may be offloaded from one ship and loaded on another, this can happen at the ports of Singapore or Hong Kong and forms part of the international shipping network. Once the ship arrives at the destination port, which may not be the city where you live, it is offloaded and transported to our Hub where it is emptied. The contents of the container are in bond and must be inspected by Customs and sometimes the Environmental Agency operating in that country and cleared by both agencies before your shipment is released. Then your shipment can either be transferred to our depot closest to your destination address or delivered directly from the Hub.

Collect full

Collection from the customer of all their belongings.

Commercial effects

Commercial effects are typically new items, unopened and still in their original packaging that a person intends to sell, gift, hire out or otherwise use for business purposes upon arrival in their destination country. You must declare these items as they are subject to taxes and duties, unlike personal effects (with some exceptions) that have been part of a person's property for at least 6 months.

Consignment

Another name for your shipment.

Customer box

Any box not supplied by Seven Seas Worldwide but also including any bag or suitcase used to pack the shipment.

Depot to depot

The nature of the MoveCube service means that unlike the Baggage service which does not require specialist vehicles, the MoveCube service cannot be offered from the door of every address. It cannot be offered throughout the country. In those areas not covered by Seven Seas Worldwide depots or partners, we instead offer the option of bringing the personal effects and household items to our depot which is closest, where they can be loaded into the MoveCube. The MoveCube can then be shipped, cleared and, if the address is outside the operational reach of our depot and our partners then we can offer the option of coming to our depot and emptying the MoveCube to take the contents away yourself.

Depot to door

The nature of the MoveCube service means that unlike the Baggage service which does not require specialist vehicles, the MoveCube service cannot be offered from the door of every address. It cannot be offered throughout the country. In those areas not covered by Seven Seas Worldwide depots or partners, we instead offer the option of bringing the personal effects and household items to our depot which is closest, where they can be loaded into the MoveCube. The MoveCube can then be shipped, cleared and delivered to the door of the building at the destination or to a garage, shed or lock-up so long as the distance between the MoveCube and the delivery point is not more than 20 metres. We would suggest that a local household mover could be brought in to assist with the unpacking of the MoveCube into the property.

Destination address

The destination address is required by Customs before the shipment can be sent. The specific address you provide can be changed during the transit of your shipment to the destination country, however, once the shipment arrives at the destination some of this flexibility disappears, once cleared we may have transferred your shipment to our depot closest to the last destination address you provided. If you need to change the address significantly, for example, a different town or city, then we will have to transfer your shipment again which can result in additional charges.

Door to port

Collection from the main door of the property or building and delivery to the port of the destination country.

Door to door

The definition changes slightly for our two services. For Boxes and Bags Shipping, delivery or collection is from the door of the building and returned to the door of the building at the destination. If the building is your house, then this is the front door. Alternatively, if the building is an apartment or residential block with flats, the door is the entrance to the apartment block. UNLESS the building has a working lift/elevator to your floor, then the door will be the front door of your apartment or flat.

Apartment buildings, for example, some in the centre of New York City, might require the delivery company to possess "movers’ insurance". This insurance covers the rare instances when movers accidentally damage the building's fixtures or fittings during the delivery. Seven Seas Worldwide operates around the world using multiple types of insurance. However, we don't have "movers’ insurance", meaning, regretfully, for those buildings requiring this insurance, we can only deliver to the apartment building door.  

In the event that our vehicles are unable to collect your shipment, we must rely on “partners”, you will know when this occurs by checking your quote:  

Our partners will only collect or deliver to or from the door of the building.

For MoveCube® shipments, collection is similarly from the door of the building and delivery to the door of the building at the destination, whether the address is a house or apartment building. The driver can also move items to and from the MoveCube® to a garage, shed or lock-up, but in all circumstances, including to the door, the distance cannot be more than 20 metres.

If we attempt to deliver a MoveCube® but your address is unsuitable, changing your job from door-to-door to door-to-depot may be necessary. In this instance, you must travel to our nearest depot and unload the MoveCube®. Please get in touch with our knowledgeable customer service team if you have any concerns or questions.

We suggest you use the services of a local household remover to either pack or unpack one or more MoveCubes®.

Excess baggage

Traditionally it is suitcases and other belongings that were in excess of transporting through airports etc.

Front door

The first door of the building, not the apartment door, unless there is a working lift / escalator in the building. For MoveCube shipments, collection is similarly from the door of the building and delivery to the door of the building at the destination whether the address is a house or apartment building.

Inter-depot

Seven Seas Worldwide operates import/export hubs and supporting depots in many countries, when a shipment is imported, once it is formaly cleared into the country, it may be transferred to the depot closest to the destination address. The process is similar for exports when the shipment is collected by a depot and transferred to the Hub to be consolidated into a larger volume before sending overseas. The transfer between depots and hubs is called an inter-depot move.

Late payment fee

Seven Seas Worldwide offers a unique 3-stage payment plan where you pay an initial deposit when you book your job, once your shipment is collected but before shipping you pay the remaining Transport & Shipping element (after the deposit is deducted) and once your shipment arrives but before returning it to you, you pay the Destination Charges. These are stated in our quote and you have 7 days to make payment for each them, if payment is not received within this time period then a later payment fee is applied and weekly storage charges will then start.

Maximum weight

When using our Baggage service, the maximum weight per box is 30kg / 66 lbs. This is printed on all our Large and Standard boxes but also applies to any individual item in your shipment whether it is a box, bag or suitcase. This maximum is set at this level to protect you and our drivers from injury when lifting the boxes. If you are in any doubt about the weight, you can use bathroom scales which can be pretty accurate. When using our MoveCube service, the maximum weight for all our MoveCube sizes: small, medium and large, is 1250kg, unless you are shipping to Europe when it is 1000kg.

MoveCube®

Your own private shipping container comes in three sizes: small (internal dimensions 1.114 x 0.964 x 1.871m = 2.01 cubic metres), medium (internal dimensions 1.464 x 1.114 x 1.871m = 3.05 cubic metres) and large (2.264 x 1.464 x 1.871m = 6.2 cubic metres). One or more of these units can be delivered to your address to be packed, move either within the country or across the world, and delivered to your destination address to be unpacked. The MoveCube is a owned by Seven Seas Worldwide Group and used across the Seven Seas Worldwide Group network of companies or those in partnership with Seven Seas Worldwide Group. Please note: you will not own the MoveCube® after delivery of your items.

No hidden charges guarantee

The charges stated on our detailed quote will remain unchanged for 60 days but we also guarantee that no "surcharges" of any type will appear. If additional charges are applied, this is usually because something that we need to be done in order to fulfil our contractual obligation to you has not been completed, for example, completing the shipping documentation, not paying outstanding charges within 7 days of issuing the invoice, packing items in your shipment that are prohibited, etc. These are charges we could much rather not apply which is why we call them "Avoidable".

Partner

Seven Seas Worldwide is unable to cover every part of the country where we operate and therefore need to rely on trusted partners who we use to deliver or collect your shipment. These partners include worldwide brands like DHL or UPS but can also be local companies that only operate in one country.

Personal effects

Please ensure your consignment only contains personal effects, as commercial items are subject to taxes and duties. "Personal Effects" are privately owned items that can be worn or carried on the person or things used in the person's residence and are not commercial goods intended for resale. The "Personal Effects" you send must have been your bona fide property for 6 months or more. Personal effects enjoy a concessionary entry into most countries and, with some exceptions, do not have duty applied.

Price freeze guarantee

If you place your order within 7 days of the date your quote is generated, then from the date of your deposit being paid we will freeze the transportation and shipping rates for 60 days or until your shipment is collected and invoiced (whichever is the earlier).

Prohibited goods

There are certain categories of items that are unsafe to send either by sea but more usually by air. They are prohibited by law and must not be included in your shipment or, if they are packed, then they will have to be removed before your shipment can proceed and this will incur additional cost. There are other categories of items that are banned by the destination country, this can vary from certain publications e.g., critical of the government, to particular materials e.g. ivory.

Transit time

The transit time of your shipment starts from the date when both payment of the "Transport and Shipping" charge is paid and complete & correct shipping documentation are received. The period of the shipment's transit time ends when your shipment is available to be returned to your destination address. If you choose not to pay the Destination Charge this does not count in the transit time. Storing your shipment at the destination also does not count in the transit time.

Volumetric weight

It's essential to be aware of volumetric weight (or vol. weight) whenever you send a bag, box or suitcase by air. Please note this is different from the maximum weight of 30kg/66lbs per item, which is necessary to protect you and our team from injury when picking up something heavy. Instead, volumetric weight is based on the overall size of the item.

You can calculate your container's volumetric weight by multiplying its height, width, and depth, then dividing the total by 5000. For example, a box 30cm in height, 50cm in width and 30cm in length divided by 5000 has a volumetric weight of 9kg. This number is the minimum weight of the item when sent by air, so if the item is 5kg in physical weight, it will be charged as 9kg.

Your shipment

Seven Seas Worldwide specialises in shipping around the world personal effects and household items. We will collect boxes, bags and suitcases, however, we can also collect without bags or packaging bicycles (with the pedals removed), surfboards, snowboards, skis, guitars and TVs and we will pack them in boxes for you. We cannot collect loose items i.e. small fragile items, unless you have booked a MoveCube, everything must be in a box, bag or suitcase.